


my scars all bear witness to what I've lived through

by Shadowcrawler



Series: Femslash February 2017 [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Accidental Cuddling, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Bisexual Female Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Femslash, Femslash February, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Unplanned Pregnancy, Villain Character Death, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 16:30:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10032020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcrawler/pseuds/Shadowcrawler
Summary: Bobbi's got a pretty easy life, even if she's a werewolf. Until Kara shows up asking for help, that is.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Jesus christ this fic was supposed to be short! It was also supposed to be posted before 1 AM on March 1st, but hey. This turned out to be the most self-indulgent thing I have ever written, including ridiculous detours into dumb fluff when I should've been writing plot, but nope, you get hair petting first. I hope you enjoy my nonsense! Let me know if you think I should up the rating or add a warning, but I don't think any of the violence is too graphic.
> 
> Title is from "Vespers" by Marian Call, which doesn't really have a ton to do with this fic but I wrote a good chunk of it while listening to her _Standing Stones_ album.

Bobbi’s lounging on her couch, idly channel surfing, when her phone rings.

“Shit,” she mutters, glancing at the screen. It’s Melinda, so she definitely can’t ignore it. But it’s been a couple weeks since the last full moon, so it’s probably not wolf-related…

“What’s up, Mel?”

“We have a situation,” says Melinda. “Can you come meet me at my place? Are you with anyone?”

“Well, it’s after eight on a Thursday night in February, so obviously I am having a fabulous house party,” snarks Bobbi. “What’s going on? Is it wolf stuff?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you when you’re here. Twenty minutes enough time?”

“Yeah,” sighs Bobbi. “Should I bring anything?”

“No, just get here as quick as you can.”

“Great,” mutters Bobbi once she’s hung up the phone. “Yeah, Bobbi, join a pack, it’ll be great, real sense of community and belonging. You’ll get cryptic phone calls at random times demanding you leave your house and go meet your leader for unexplained reasons. It’ll be a riot!”

\---

When Bobbi arrives at Melinda’s house, she can see from the collection of vehicles out front - Mack and Elena’s car, Daisy and Joey’s bikes, Coulson’s car - that she’s one of the last to arrive. She rolls her eyes. They all live closer to Melinda’s, so it’s not really a surprise, but it’s making her look like a slacker.

Sure enough, when Melinda opens the door, she just looks at Bobbi for a second. “You made it.”

“Yeah, well, I live across town, so.” Bobbi shrugs. “What’s going on, exactly?”

“C’mon in,” says Melinda, starting down the hallway. “I’ll explain once we’re with the others.”

Bobbi frowns and follows her, about to open her mouth and ask another question when the new scent hits her. When they’re in human form, they do retain some of their heightened wolf senses, and she knows the scents of every pack member as well as her own. This one is different: warm, light, tinged with fear and pomegranate shampoo and something else she can’t place. She freezes instinctively. “Who else is here?” she asks, trying to keep her tone neutral.

Melinda doesn’t answer until they’ve turned a corner and reached the living room. “Bobbi’s here,” she announces to the rest of the group. “Now we can talk.”

Melinda’s living room has a nice, if somewhat utilitarian, variety of chairs and a long couch. At the moment, Joey, Trip, Jemma, Daisy, and Fitz are all crammed onto the couch, while Elena and Mack share a loveseat and Coulson has his own chair, to one side of Melinda’s favorite leather chair. And in the chair on the other side of him…

“Who’s _she?_ ” Bobbi asks, and it comes out a little meaner than she means it to.

The woman in the chair (dark-haired with a nasty-looking scar down one side of her face) looks back at her. She reeks of fear, but she leans forward with a defiant expression. “I’m Kara,” she says.

“Bobbi,” says Melinda, just this side of warning. “Kara is our guest for the moment. She’s from the Boise Foothills pack and she left a few days ago. She’s in some trouble.”

“Yeah, can we have more details on that?” Daisy asks, looking at Kara. “I mean, we don’t know anything about you yet, but your leader is kind of infamous for being a huge asshole, to say the least.”

“I know Grant’s reputation,” says Kara, returning Daisy’s stare. “Whatever you’ve heard, I could probably tell you something worse. I’ve been with him for three years, both as his pack member and his mate. I loved him, but he’s become too dangerous and I can’t stay with him or with the pack anymore. So I left.”

Everyone stares at her, a bit stunned. Children of werewolves may opt to leave their birth packs as young adults, but adult wolves don’t typically leave unless forced to. Finally Coulson says, “Well, uh, that’s certainly...dramatic. Does he know you left?”

Kara shrugs. “By now I’m sure he does. I left him a note, but he’ll never let it end there. I came because...because I thought your pack might help me.”

Melinda nods, adding, “She called me from a truck stop earlier this evening. I guess she got my number from an area directory.” She pauses to narrow her eyes at Coulson, who, Bobbi’s pretty sure, is singlehandedly keeping Melinda and her husband from going off the grid. He grins and shrugs and she continues, “She said she was in a bad spot, so I brought her back here.”

“How do we know she isn’t a spy?” Joey asks.

“Doesn’t have a wire or any kind of mic on her. I’d hear it,” replies Melinda. “She doesn’t have a phone or a car, she’s got one bag of clothes that I already made her go through in front of me, and do you think she’d be smelling that strongly of fear if this were a setup? Believe me, I considered that already.”

Joey ducks his head, embarrassed. Trip runs his hand down Joey’s arm reassuringly and says, “So what’s your plan, Kara? If you have one, I mean.”

“Not really. My plan was to get the fuck out of there,” says Kara with a too-casual shrug. “Melinda’s was the closest pack, so I thought you might be able to help me. But I don’t want anyone to get hurt, so if you want me to just go, I will.”

“No,” Elena says, frowning. “There is no need for that. Not yet anyway. It will take Ward at least a few days to find you, yes? If he is very lucky.”

“Hopefully,” says Kara. “He doesn’t know I knew Melinda’s name. I’m not sure he thinks I’m smart enough to track down another pack. I had some cash and bought a bus ticket part of the way here, hitchhiked and walked the rest.”

Fitz’s eyes are wide. “What did he do that made you want to leave?”

“Fitz!” Jemma glares at her friend and then says, “I’m sorry, he meant to say, we’re all very sorry to hear that you’ve had such a terrible time, Kara.”

“Yeah, that really sucks.” Daisy grimaces. “I mean, that’s an understatement, but y’know. Are you staying at Melinda’s tonight or do you need somewhere else to crash? Jem and I don’t have a ton of room, but our couch is pretty comfy.”

“That’s part of why I called you here,” Melinda says. “First of all, so that we could discuss what to do as a pack. Second, because at the very least she’ll need somewhere to stay for the night.”

“Well, we can’t just kick her out,” Mack says. “It’d be cruel, especially since it’s still winter.”

Trip nods and adds, “It’s not like we’re Ward’s best friends anyway. If she was brave enough to get away from him, I say we should protect her.”

There’s murmurs of agreement from everyone else. Coulson chimes in, “We’ve got a guest room, but I’d have to talk to Rosalind first.” Bobbi rolls her eyes. Coulson’s wife really isn’t her favorite person, and she can’t see Rosalind being particularly hospitable.

“So we’re all in agreement?” Melinda asks. “We’ll help Kara and defend her if any of Ward’s people come sniffing around? If anyone’s got any doubts, now’s the time.”

“Um, it’s not a doubt,” Joey says, a bit hesitantly, “but I’m not sure how good I’d be in a fight if some of those guys came knocking on my door, you know?”

“Nobody has to host her,” Melinda adds. “It’s volunteer only.”

Mack and Elena glance at each other, and Elena says, “We can, we have the space. My only concern would be the baby…” She places her hand on her belly. “I worry, you know? I would protect Kara of course, but...”

“I could protect you both,” says Mack, sounding mock-offended.

“I don’t want you getting stupid macho ideas either,” Elena replies, smirking. “I pull my own weight.”

“Maybe we could like, have her stay at a few places,” suggests Daisy. “Throw Ward off her scent. Literally.”

Melinda nods. “I considered that. If enough people are up to hosting her, that is. We discussed it on the drive here.” She glances at Kara. “She’s staying at my place tonight, just in case, but who can have her over the weekend? I may need to drive over to Fury’s if I can’t get ahold of him.”

Bobbi raises an eyebrow and asks, “You think you might need to involve the Hood River guys?”

“Not sure. Better safe than sorry.” Melinda shrugs. “You live the farthest away from me. Can you take her? I think that’d be safest, until we know what’s going on.”

“Um. I guess?” Bobbi glances dubiously over at Kara. “No offense. It’s just, my apartment isn’t huge or anything. I don’t really have people over.”

Shrugging, Kara says, “Whatever. I just need somewhere to crash, that’s it.”

\---

At the hardware store the next day, Bobbi’s distracted. Usually she’s very focused at work, even when she’s stressed out about something, but it’s a slow day today and she’s stuck thinking about Kara and Ward. She’s still not sure about Kara, and she doesn’t really like people in her space, but if it means she gets to fight a bully like Ward, maybe that’ll be worth it.

She’s idly fantasizing about ripping out chunks of Ward’s fur when her coworker Isabelle calls, “Hey, Bob, did you mean to put these nails in with the screws?”

“Huh? Oh, shit.” Embarrassed, Bobbi starts to gather up the boxes she’s accidentally stacked in the wrong spot. “Thanks, Izzy. Sorry. Got a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Oh?” Isabelle raises an eyebrow. “Like what? You finally meet someone new?”

“What? Jesus, no.” Bobbi scoffs. “I’ve just got someone coming over this weekend. Um, my cousin’s friend. Long story. I don’t really know her that well but I guess she needs somewhere to stay for a couple days. Was trying to figure out what to do about that.”

“Oh.” Isabelle tilts her head. “Why can’t she stay with your cousin?”

“M- um, my cousin is going out of town,” explains Bobbi quickly. “But her friend just got out of, uh, a bad relationship, so she just needs somewhere to crash while she figures stuff out.”

Isabelle’s eyes widen. “Jesus, that’s heavy. Lemme know if I can help, okay? You know I’m always good for a beatdown for shitty guys.”

Bobbi snorts. “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks. How’s Vic doing?” Outside of the pack, Isabelle and her partner Victoria are probably the people Bobbi considers her closest friends.

“Oh, y’know. Still hates paperwork,” says Isabelle, smirking. “Still the best in her firm. She’s got a crazy environmental case coming up that she can’t talk about, so I haven’t seen much of her this week.”

“That sucks. Well, give her my best.”

Isabelle nods. “Always do. D’you want me to mention your houseguest’s problem to her when she’s not so swamped? She might know somebody who could help.”

Bobbi almost laughs aloud at the idea of the local law firm (which is decent for the area, to be fair) trying to serve Ward a restraining order. From what she’s heard, he and his pack would make lunchmeat of them before the ink dried. “I’ll let you know,” she says diplomatically.

She stops off to grab an air mattress on the way home and texts Melinda once she’s sitting on her couch at home. Melinda’s planning on feeding Kara before she brings her over, which is good because Bobbi’s diet these days basically consists of canned chili, frozen hamburgers, and takeout. While she waits, Bobbi pulls out a couple of frozen lasagnas and sticks them in the microwave one at a time. Then she pulls out her pocketknife and attacks the air mattress box.

She’s about halfway through an episode of _Arrested Development_ when the buzzer goes off. She lets Melinda and Kara up, pacing in front of the door while she waits for the knock.

“Hi,” Melinda says, when she opens the door. Kara’s behind her, looking wary. “We haven’t heard anything from him yet, but text me immediately if anything weird happens.”

Bobbi nods. “C’mon in,” she says, feeling awkward. She doesn’t really have... _anyone_ over, and this apartment hasn’t really felt like anything more than a waystation even though she’s been here almost a year. (She prefers it to the apartment she and Lance had, though. She’d wouldn’t admit it to the rest of the pack, but while she sometimes misses him, she doesn’t miss living with him.)

“Thanks,” says Kara. She’s holding a small duffel bag and a purse and that’s it. “Um, should I just-”

“You can drop them off here,” Bobbi says, waving her hand at the air mattress. “It’s not much, sorry, but this is the biggest room besides my bedroom. ‘Biggest’ being a relative term here.”

“It’s fine,” says Kara quickly, dropping her things next to it. “Thank you for, um, letting me stay here. I know it’s a lot to ask.”

“Call me if you need anything,” Melinda says, and then, with a last nod to Bobbi, leaves.

Kara and Bobbi stare at each other for a minute before Bobbi says, “So, I was just watching TV, do you wanna join me? It’s called _Arrested Development,_ it’s an old FOX comedy from like 2003.”

“Sure.” Kara looks a little uncertain but comes to sit next to her on the couch. She’s careful, Bobbi notices, to arrange herself so none of her body accidentally touches Bobbi’s.

“Sorry the couch is kind of shitty,” Bobbi says. “I got it from somebody’s front yard. I couldn’t really afford to be picky.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Kara tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Bobbi presses play.

As the episodes play, Kara becomes slightly less anxious - she even laughs at some of the jokes. She’s still careful to stay on her side of the couch, like maybe she thinks Bobbi would get angry if she touched her, but she smiles at Bobbi some. The awkwardness between them eases somewhat.

Then suddenly Kara gets up and runs for the bathroom.

“Kara?” Bobbi calls, getting up and padding cautiously after her. She can hear the sounds of Kara throwing up, but if Kara’s one of those people who hates having people around when she’s sick, Bobbi doesn’t want to bother her too much.

“I’m fine,” calls Kara, which is less convincing after Bobbi hears her throw up again.

“Do you need...anything?” Bobbi asks hesitantly.

“Close the door?” Kara whimpers. Bobbi does, and after throwing up a couple more times Kara calls out weakly, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” says Bobbi. “Is it just ‘cause you’re stressed out, or did you eat something weird?”

Kara’s quiet a long moment. It’s long enough that Bobbi suddenly remembers that weird other element of her scent, the one she couldn’t quite place but that seemed familiar… “Oh my god, you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

There’s another long moment of quiet. “Fuck,” Kara finally says. “I was hoping I could hide it a little longer.”

“Is that why you got out?” Bobbi asks, even though it’s probably kind of mean to ask her this stuff while she’s hiding in Bobbi’s bathroom. “Does he know?”

“God, I hope not,” mutters Kara. “I didn’t even know until last week. I think I’m about a month along?”

“So you’re still shifting.” Wolf pregnancies are shorter than regular human pregnancies, about seven months, and pregnant werewolves stop shifting usually after the first trimester. It’s one of those wolf things that drives the former science buff in Bobbi a little crazy, but it works, so probably that’s the important thing.

“Yeah.” Kara sounds very small.

Bobbi coughs awkwardly. “Hey, uh, can I come in? And get you a washcloth or something?”

“Please.” Kara sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no need to apologize. That toilet has seen the contents of my stomach more than once in the last year.” Bobbi retrieves a washcloth from the basket of clean but unfolded laundry sitting at the foot of her bed, and opens the bathroom door. Kara is curled in on herself, looking pitiful, tear stains running down her cheeks. Bobbi quickly wets the washcloth and then hands it to her. “Do you need to hang out in here for a bit, or shall we go back to the couch?”

“I think I’m okay for now,” says Kara, wiping her face. “Can I have some water?”

“Yeah, of course.” Bobbi backs off a little to let Kara stand on her own, and then they walk through the tiny kitchen, where Bobbi grabs her a glass of water, before sitting down again. “Here.” Bobbi nudges the trash can towards her. “So you don’t have to run for the bathroom if you feel like you’re gonna barf again.”

“Thanks.” Kara takes a sip. “Um, don’t tell anyone yet, okay? I haven’t...I don’t know what I’m gonna do about it yet. I need to think.”

Bobbi nods. “We’ll help, either way. And I won’t say anything. Though, Mel’s not stupid, she probably already knows,” she adds with a wry smile.

“I know, but...I don’t want to deal with a bunch of questions before I’ve thought it through, you know? Grant and I hadn’t talked about kids, I hadn’t really thought about it much. I don’t know if I’d be a good mom at all.”

“Not to sound all Lifetime movie, but you got the fuck out when you found out your boyfriend was being a terrifying abusive dickhead to protect yourself and your hypothetical kid. I’d say that’s being a pretty good mom.”

That makes Kara laugh, albeit shakily. “Thanks, I guess. So, yeah. That was part of the reason I ran.”

“That sucks.” Bobbi doesn’t push her for more. If Kara wants to talk, she will.

“I’ve known I should leave for a while,” Kara sighs. “He’d been distant, focused on sheriff stuff and the pack. He’s the county sheriff,” she adds quickly, at Bobbi’s confused look. “So I couldn’t just go to the police for help. Most of them are his buddies - not all wolves, but enough. But he didn’t used to be so...he used to be sweet to me. We took care of each other. He used to let me run alongside him during wolfstime, but he and the boys started going off for ‘guy time’ about six months ago and they’d snap at me and chase me away if I tried to follow them. This,” she gestures at her stomach, “was the first time he’d touched me in months. I made him dinner and I bought some wine...I thought maybe if I tried harder it might get better. Then I found out what they were _doing_ during ‘guy time’ and-” Her voice breaks, and she swallows before continuing. “He’s become a monster. I don’t know what I ever saw in him.”

“Hey, hey,” Bobbi says, trying for soothing. She rests her hand above Kara’s shoulder and then pats her gently. “You said he wasn’t always like this, yeah? You couldn’t have known he’d turn into a neglectful shithead. Hell, my ex wasn’t that bad but he wasn’t very good at the whole being an adult thing. Sometimes we just grow apart from people.”

“And sometimes we catch our boyfriends _eating_ people,” Kara says bitterly. When Bobbi just blinks at her, startled, she continues, “I tracked him and the rest of the pack once, even though he warned me not to. I found them...well, they were _eating_ someone. I don’t know who. They didn’t smell me, I ran away, but after that I looked into what Grant was doing at work. He would arrest people for stupid things: running stoplights, open containers, bar fights, shit like that. But he wouldn’t take them back to the station; he’d drive out to the edge of town with them. I couldn’t get close enough to hear what he said to them, but I know at least a few of them showed up at pack meetings after that.”

“Wait, what are you saying?” Bobbi asks.

Kara holds up a finger. “And some of the others, they went missing. I can’t confirm more than a couple, but one of them was a teenager whose parents raised hell when he disappeared. Never found any traces of him. Most people thought he just ran off, but I think...I tried tracking him and his scent cut off in the middle of the woods. I think Grant and the others _ate_ him.”

“Christ,” mutters Bobbi. “So you think Ward is, what, forcing people to let him turn them or else he’ll use them as chew toys for his pack?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” Kara says, “but I can’t think of another explanation. They were definitely eating a human, I smelled it. I know people say Grant leads us into other territories and fights other packs, and he has done that before, but this is…”

“Unbelievable,” Bobbi finishes. “But I believe you. Or at least, I believe something weird is going on. And I understand why you left.”

“Thank you,” whispers Kara. “And…and there’s something else.”

Bobbi frowns. “What is it?”

Kara takes a deep, shuddering breath. “When I tracked that kid’s scent - I accidentally ran into one of the pack. I think his name is Kebo? He and Grant and a couple of others were, god, I don’t even want to know, stalking one of their snacks nearby, I guess. Anyway he, um, he started chasing me and I, I wasn’t fast enough.” Hanging her head, Kara mumbles, “Y’know, you heal but not the same way from a wolf bite.”

“Yeah.” Bobbi’s never been in a fight with another wolf, but she’s seen the leftover scars on some of the other wolves before. Melinda’s got a particularly nasty one on her shoulder, which she says doesn’t bother her anymore but Bobbi’s seen her human self sometimes. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, it happened,” Kara says, suddenly sounding harsh. “Now you know. It’s pitiful, huh? Poor little wolf girl who fell in with the wrong crowd and has a torn-up face and no pack to show for it.”

“I don’t think that at all,” Bobbi says. “I think you’re a badass to get away from all that in basically one piece.” She hesitantly reaches out to put her hand on Kara’s shoulder, and Kara nods her okay, although she stiffens slightly when Bobbi actually rests her hand there. “Not pitiful at all,” she adds.

“Thanks.” Kara’s voice is small. “Can we go back to watching stuff?”

Bobbi nods and presses play. She keeps her hand on Kara’s shoulder until Kara gently shrugs it off, and she doesn’t miss how Kara’s sitting much closer to her than she was before. Their thighs touch now, just in one spot, but still touching.

Around ten Bobbi asks, “D’you wanna use the shower or anything? I’ve only got my shampoo and stuff, but you’re welcome to it.”

“Can I?” asks Kara. “That sounds amazing, actually.”

“Yeah, I figured. You go on, I’ll go grab you a towel.”

While Bobbi waits for Kara to finish, she does some investigating on her phone. Googling Ward’s name comes up with a decent amount of hits, one of which is a short article from the Boise police department reporting Kara’s disappearance and her “frantic fiance” Sheriff Ward, who’s desperate for any news of her. Bobbi raises an eyebrow. The quotes they got from him are pretty convincing, if you don’t know the rumors. There’s a couple of pictures of Kara from before the attack, mostly smiling, and one, a profile view, that must be recent, maybe from a Facebook post. The scar looks fresher - it was taken maybe the week after - and she doesn’t even seem aware the camera’s focused on her. She looks lost in thought.

When Kara comes out of the bathroom, wearing flannel pajamas that have clearly seen better days, Bobbi says, “So, Ward’s got an alert out for you.”

Kara freezes, eyes wide. “What?”

Bobbi hands her her phone. “I’m guessing the fiance thing was an embellishment,” she says dryly.

“Jesus Christ!” gasps Kara. “We were never engaged! He never even mentioned the idea to me! She reads the article, and when she’s done she sinks onto the couch very slowly. “He’s going to find me,” she mutters. “He’ll find me and he’ll be so upset-”

“Hey, hey, we’re not gonna let him,” Bobbi says, sitting down next to her. “From what you’ve said, he’s a controlling asshole, and he’s a liar, and he probably manipulates people into feeling sorry for him. But how much pull does he really have outside of Idaho? I mean, I don’t think a ton of people around here are gonna see that. Issaquah’s not really that concerned with what’s going on in Boise.”

Kara shakes her head. “But he’ll, he’ll find out where I am _somehow_ and he’ll come for me and then...then…” She wraps her arms around herself and trails off, but she’s shaking.

“Do you, um, do you want a hug?”

“Yes,” Kara whimpers. “That’s silly, isn’t it? But yes, I do.”

“It’s not.” Bobbi carefully wraps her arms around Kara. She’s not really much of a hugger - it would be better if she were Mack or Daisy - but Kara doesn’t seem to mind, instinctively burrowing into her. Bobbi pats her back a few times and, after a minute, says, “Listen, if you don’t wanna sleep on the air mattress, you can take my bed.”

“What?” Kara pulls back to look at her. “You don’t have to do that, this will be-”

“Look. You probably haven’t slept in a real bed since you left Boise, and you’re traumatized and exhausted, _and_ you’re pregnant. Any one of those things would be a good reason, and there are three. I’m giving you the bed,” says Bobbi firmly. “I haven’t washed my sheets in awhile, but it’ll still be nicer than the mattress.”

Kara seems about to argue, but then she sighs and nods. “At least for tonight,” she says. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking over your place or anything.”

“Jesus, no, I don’t feel like that at all,” says Bobbi. Strangely, she means it. “You’re in a pretty bad spot and it sucks and I wanna help you out.”

“Well, thanks,” says Kara. “Um, so were you gonna head to bed?’

“Yeah, I open tomorrow. I work at a hardware store,” Bobbi explains. “I’m done by one though. Um, sorry to leave you hanging for the morning. Weekends are kind of sacred in retail. There’s like, food and stuff here, and I’ve got movies and Netflix. I can call - oh shit, do you even have a phone?”

Kara holds up a flip phone. “Yeah, it’s just a prepaid. I ditched my real phone back in Boise.”

“Okay, I better get that number from you so I can check in on you on my breaks and stuff. Unless you don’t want me to? I totally get it if you’d rather I just leave you alone.”

Kara shakes her head. “No, I...I’d like that. I haven’t really felt like someone, y’know, cared about me for a while.”

That makes Bobbi so goddamn sad she’s not sure she won’t hug Kara again, which is not a thing she typically does. So instead, she grabs her phone and opens her contacts. “What’s the number?” she asks, trying for businesslike.

After Kara reads it off, she gets up off the couch. “So I guess I’ll, uh, head for bed then,” she says. “I should be okay tomorrow. I’ll probably sleep in a lot anyway.”

“Okay. I can have someone come and drop in on you? Elena’s got an actual office job so she’s off, um...I can call Joey and see if he’s off tomorrow…”

“I’ll be okay for a few hours,” Kara says. “Really. And...thanks again.”

\---

As it turns out, that air mattress is not actually comparable to a bed in any way, and not only is Bobbi not about to let Kara sleep on it, she briefly considers tossing it on the curb while she waits for the toaster to ping. She’s slept worse places...like literal concrete...but it was really not her idea of restful.

Isabelle gives her a funny look when she stumbles in, bleary-eyed, but she just grunts “Didn’t sleep well” and Isabelle doesn’t press her. The morning drags on, and she starts to feel a little less zombie-ish by the time her lunch rolls around. She ends up calling Kara a little after nine thirty, but even if Kara’s still asleep she’ll see the missed call.

Kara sounds a little sleepy, but Bobbi can hear the smile in her voice. “Hi.”

“Hey. I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“Not really.” It’s not convincing, but Kara doesn’t sound upset. “Thanks for checking up on me. How’s your work going?”

Bobbi chuckles. “Eh. Same old, same old. Five AM shift start is a bitch.”

“Sorry. If you wanna nap when you get home, I can find something to do.”

“I might. I’m feeling a little less like the living dead now that I’ve got food in me. Also, that air mattress is total garbage and I’m not letting you sleep on it at all.”

Kara makes a little surprised noise. “But-”

“No buts. You can use the bed and I’ll sleep on the couch or something. It can’t be that bad. Don’t argue, you’re not sleeping on Satan’s mattress.”

Kara giggles, and it kind of sounds like she’s as surprised by that as Bobbi is. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was so bad. You can definitely nap when you get back, okay? I’ll watch a movie with the volume on low or something.”

“Sure,” agrees Bobbi. “And how are you with, y’know…” She doesn’t want to say “morning sickness” or “nausea” out loud in case Isabelle or somebody else is around. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” says Kara, sighing. “I haven’t had breakfast yet. We’ll see if I can keep it down. Is your tap water okay to drink? We don’t really trust tap water at...home.” The last word comes out sort of sad.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. Have as much as you want. If you, you know, run into issues, be sure you keep drinking a lot, you need to stay hydrated.” Bobbi runs through her mental rolodex of pregnancy-related health stuff she learned in high school, and the few classes she’s been able to take at the community college. “Do you need me to get anything for you when I’m done here?”

“I don’t think so. I’m still...thinking. Y’know.” Kara’s quiet a minute, then she says, “Well...I should probably let you go back to work, huh?”

“I’ve got a couple more minutes,” Bobbi replies. “Unless you wanna go make food or whatever. The toaster’s a little finnicky, but it works, and there should be eggs in the fridge. I don’t think I ate them all. Help yourself.”

“I should go eat, probably.” Kara sounds almost apologetic. “Good luck at work.”

“Thanks. Later.” Bobbi hangs up, feeling oddly light.

“Who was that?” Isabelle’s scent clues Bobbi in before she even turns around to see her standing in the break room doorway.

“Jesus, none of your business, nosy,” says Bobbi, smirking. “For your information, I was checking in on that girl that’s staying at my place this weekend. Kara. I wanted to make sure she was still doing okay.”

“Uh-huh.” Isabelle sits down in the chair across from Bobbi. “And that’s all?”

Bobbi rolls her eyes. Isabelle’s been lowkey trying to get her dating again for the last six months. “ _Yes_ , that’s all. She just got out of a bad relationship, remember? I’m helping her out.”

“If you say so,” shrugs Isabelle, pulling out a tupperware and heading for the microwave.

\---

When Bobbi arrives at her apartment, Kara is on the couch scrolling through Netflix. “Hi,” she says, smiling a little shyly. “I took you up on the eggs. And I washed the pan, I hope that was okay.”

“Holy shit, really? That makes you a saint in my book,” Bobbi says, flopping down next to her. “I don’t know if you noticed, but dishes aren’t a high priority for me.”

Kara shrugs. “It’s fine. My mom just taught me to always clean up after myself right away when I cook, so it’s a habit now. Anyway, go nap if you want. I’ll keep the volume down.”

Bobbi’s suddenly too tired to argue, so she does. She sleeps for a blissful three hours, and probably drools, and when she gets up Kara is engrossed in _Arrested Development_ season one. She seems almost sheepish when Bobbi comes out to join her, saying, “I wanted to go back to the beginning. I don’t like jumping in in the middle of things.”

“Hey, nothing wrong with that. It’s a damn good show.” Bobbi pauses. “Mind if I join you? I’m gonna go throw my sheets in the wash first, but.”

“No, I’d like that.” Kara smiles at her. _Pretty smile,_ Bobbi thinks, and then mentally kicks herself.

“Cool, just a sec,” she says, and doesn’t smack her forehead until she’s out of sight (and earshot). Then, once her sheets are in the wash, she returns to the living room to watch TV with her completely platonic acquaintance whose smile she should _not_ find so cute, what the fuck, Barbara Morse, that is _so_ inappropriate and creepy.

Around six PM she asks, “What do you wanna eat? I assume you looked in the kitchen and stuff earlier.”

“A little,” nods Kara. “I dunno, what do you usually do?”

“Honestly? Either something canned or something from a box. Or like, a couple sandwiches. You know how it is.”

Kara chuckles. “Yeah. What are you feeling like?”

“Well, it’s Saturday night, I usually throw a couple burgers and some fries in the oven. That good with you? I’ve got some cheese too, and lettuce and tomatoes. That makes it healthy.” Bobbi winks, then feels ridiculous. Who winks?  


But Kara laughs and says, “Sounds good. Do you need any help?”

“Nah, I’ll be quick. You can keep watching if you want.”

While they’re eating, Kara asks, “Do you have to work tomorrow too?”

Bobbi nods. “Yeah, but not till like one. I am closing, though. Why? You wishing you were staying with someone with an actual life on the weekends?” She grins to let Kara know she’s joking.

“No, no, it’s really nice to just...hang out quietly, actually,” says Kara. “It makes me feel a little less crazy. Thanks for that.” She smiles, and Bobbi’s heart does something weird and fluttery, and it’s awful. “I was thinking maybe I could buy some food and make you dinner sometime? To thank you for letting me stay here.”

“Jesus, you don’t have to do that,” Bobbi protests. “It’s seriously not a big deal-”

“But you had to sleep on a shitty air mattress and you’re feeding a whole extra person, _and_ I asked you to keep a secret from your pack,” says Kara stubbornly. “The least I can do is dinner. My dad showed me how to make this really good Greek pasta and chicken thing, it’s pretty simple.”

Bobbi’s mouth waters a little just thinking about it, and she feels a little bad for saying yes so quickly, but it’s not like she didn’t try to protest.

“Oh,” Kara says when the episode they’re watching finishes, “do you know of any doctors who, y’know, know about us? We don’t have any in Boise but I’ve heard of them.”

“Actually, yeah. Dr. Streiten takes care of all of us. He doesn’t shift anymore, he’s too old for it so he stayed fully human, but he’s the pack’s main doctor since so much of our health is so different. And he’s Elena’s OBGYN, if that’s what you were thinking.”

“Yeah. I mean I haven’t...I’m still thinking about it, but I thought maybe I should get myself checked out no matter what, you know? How easy is it to get in to see him?”

“Jemma’s actually his receptionist,” says Bobbi dryly, “so she’s pretty good at sneaking us in even when he’s packed. I can give her a call on Monday if you want. I won’t mention anything but that you want a checkup,” she adds when Kara looks nervous.   


“If you wouldn’t mind? My insurance isn’t through my work so I’m covered. And I can use the bus or something if you have work when I make the appointment.”

“What kind of asshole would I be letting a pregnant girl navigate the hell that is the bus system by herself?” teases Bobbi. “I’m gonna do my damnedest to avoid making you do that.”

Kara snorts. “I’m _pregnant,_ not an idiot.”

“Still. Believe me, I’m doing you a favor.”

Around midnight, Bobbi says, “Well, I’d better pull out some spare sheets for the couch, I guess.”

Kara coughs and says, kind of shy, “Or you could come share the bed with me.”

Something in Bobbi’s brain short-circuits. “Say what?”

“You’ve got work tomorrow,” Kara says. “And I don’t think your couch will be all that much better than the mattress. The bed is big enough for both of us. It’ll be like a sleepover.” She chuckles nervously. “I mean, we barely know each other, and I didn’t go to a lot of sleepovers as a kid, but you get the idea. That’s not a weird suggestion, is it? You can tell me to fuck off if you want, it’s okay.”

It’s not so much that it’s a weird situation, it’s more that Bobbi’s feeling _really_ weird about sharing a bed with a woman that she barely knows, yet seems to be developing a schoolgirl crush on (!), not to mention a woman who just got out of a bad relationship (!) and who is basically on the run (!). But she can’t exactly say any of that without sounding like a jackass, so instead she just shrugs and says, “Y’know what, if you’re okay with it, let’s try it for tonight. I’ve had weirder sleeping arrangements.” She hasn’t, but Kara doesn’t need to know that.

The other thing is, she usually sleeps naked, so she has to rummage in her drawers to find a pair of old sweats and a T-shirt that’ll work. She lets Kara change in her room and quickly slips into the makeshift pajamas, glad at least that if her psyche decides to fuck with her and give her a sex dream or something, it shouldn’t be too obvious.

Kara’s moved to the other side of the bed and is smiling at her sort of awkwardly when she comes in. “I’m not usually a sleep-cuddler,” she jokes, “if that’s what you were worried about.”

Bobbi snorts. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m not either. Though I should warn you, Lance used to say I was sort of a blanket hog, but that man snored like a chainsaw so I’m not sure he was really the authority on considerate bed-sharing.”

“Lance?” Kara tilts her head.

“My ex,” says Bobbi with a shrug. “Long story, not looking for sympathy, but we were engaged, then we weren’t, then he was gonna go find another pack, then his car got T-boned by another car. It was a couple years ago.”

“Jesus,” says Kara, eyes widening. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“It’s fine. Or, well, it’s not, but I’m not crying myself to sleep over it every night,” says Bobbi. “We weren’t really working out, but I do miss him sometimes. Not living with him, though. If I never live with another man, it’ll be too soon, my god.”

Kara giggles. “Yeah, Grant is actually pretty neat, but he’s...fussy about things. Like if I didn’t put stuff away just how he liked it he’d chastise me. It was weird.”

Bobbi makes a face. “Gross. Did he do that often?”

“Sometimes,” admits Kara. “And he liked me to check in with him pretty often when I went out. I thought it was just him being cute and concerned at first, but he’d get upset if I left without telling him, and...yeah. He didn’t seem to have a lot of time for me, but he didn’t like me not having time for him.”

“Uh, yikes. Red flags.”

Kara sighs and nods. “I know, I know. I should’ve left sooner, but it was...hard. Like I said, he didn’t used to be that bad, and I thought maybe once work stopped stressing him out it would get better. I don’t know.” She fiddles with the corner of a blanket. “It was stupid.”

“Hey. No, it’s not stupid.” Bobbi climbs on the bed and reaches out to pat Kara’s shoulder, then pauses just in case that’s weird. “It’s tough to leave relationships even if they’re really bad. I think it’s awesome that you did, even if it took you awhile.”

“Well, thanks,” mutters Kara. “I’m gonna, um, turn in, if that’s okay.”

“Oh. Sure, yeah.” No sooner are the words out of Bobbi’s mouth that Kara hunkers down and turns over on her side, facing away from Bobbi. _Shit._ Bobbi makes a mental note to just make faces if Kara mentions Ward again.

But, aside from the half hour she lies awake cursing herself for being an asshole, she sleeps pretty well.

\---

Kara’s still asleep when Bobbi wakes up around nine, so she quietly slips out of bad and goes into the kitchen to make breakfast as an apology. It turns out she needs more eggs, but it’s easy enough to get to the store and back. By the time Kara rolls out of bed, the eggs and the frozen hash browns that Bobbi dug out of the back of the fridge are just about done.

“You didn’t have to make breakfast,” Kara says, looking shocked.

“Yeah, but you seemed pretty upset last night so I wanted to apologize,” replies Bobbi, smiling at her. “It’s not much, but it’s the best I can do.”

“Oh.” Kara blushes. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. It’s...I was being a sulky asshole, it’s okay.”

“I don’t think you were,” Bobbi says. “But anyway. Tell me if I say something that pisses you off, okay? I don’t wanna make things worse for you.”

“Okay.” Kara still seems surprised that Bobbi’s offering that, but she nods.

“Anyway. Uh, I made scrambled eggs, that seemed like the safest, is that okay?”

Kara smiles. “That’s great, yeah.”

Melinda texts a couple hours later. _How’s it going over there?_

Bobbi rolls her eyes. As if she needs to be checked up on. _Fine, thanks. Kara seems happier. We’re hanging out, watching TV and stuff._

_Good. No signs of him?_

_Not a one._

_Fury hadn’t heard anything. Said he’d let me know. You good if she stays a few more days with you? Andrew and I can take her if you need space._

Bobbi types _no, she can stay here_ before she bothers to think about why that’s a bad idea.

\---

Dr. Streiten can fit Kara in on Wednesday afternoon, which is great because Bobbi has that day off. They spend the two days prior to that mostly hanging out, when Bobbi’s not working. Kara only throws up a couple more times, which she seems to consider a victory. On Tuesday evening, Bobbi comes home to a kitchen full of amazing smells and Kara chopping parsley. “Woah, hey,” Bobbi says, grinning, “what’s all this, Master Chef?”

“I told you,” Kara says, looking pleased with herself, “I’m making you dinner.”

“Okay, well, it smells amazing. Do you need any help?”

Kara shakes her head. “Go sit down, it’ll be ready soon.”

The impulsive, wolfish parts of Bobbi’s brain make her consider leaning over to just kiss Kara for half a second when Kara brings her a plate of chicken pasta, but she fights it and just grins and says, “Jesus Christ, thank you. You seriously didn’t have to.”

“It really wasn’t that big a deal,” says Kara, ducking her head. “It’s pretty simple.”

“You’ve seen the food I eat, right? This shit is like magic to me.” Bobbi makes a not-entirely-innocent noise as she starts scarfing it down.

“Maybe I should make you something more complicated sometime, then,” Kara says, smirking. “I haven’t really had someone to enjoy the food my dad taught me to make in awhile.”

“I will eat anything you put in front of me,” Bobbi promises. She wills herself not to make the dirty joke that pops into her head because that is _totally_ weird and inappropriate.

Kara laughs. “Noted. I’m glad you like it so much.”

“I really, really do.”

On Wednesday morning, Bobbi wakes up to find Kara pacing throughout the small apartment, muttering to herself. “This is a bad idea, isn’t it?” she asks when she sees Bobbi watching her. “Someone’s gonna find out, and then somehow _he’ll_ find out, and...”

“Well, they won’t find out from me or Dr. Streiten,” says Bobbi, “and you seriously don’t have to tell the rest of the pack if you don’t want to. Nobody else has to know until you’re ready.”

Kara swallows. “Okay.”

Bobbi’s not allowed to go in with Kara, so instead she hangs around the waiting room. It’s a quiet day at the office, so she and Jemma are basically the only one in there aside from a guy playing around on his phone and ignoring them. Bobbi glances at the door, subtly, she thinks, until Jemma clears her throat. “How are you doing, Bobbi?” she asks brightly. But her smile is just a little off, like she wants Bobbi to know she caught her looking.

“Fine, thanks,” Bobbi says casually. “Kara’s nice. Having her around is okay.”

“Really?” Jemma leans over the counter to murmur, “You smell anxious, is something the matter?”

Damn wolf senses. “No,” Bobbi replies. “I’m just, y’know, worried about Ward and stuff. He’s pretty bad news, from what Kara was saying.”

“Uh-huh,” Jemma says. “Well, last I heard from Melinda there hasn’t been any contact from him. We should be prepared, but I don’t think there’s reason to expect him to barge in any second, especially this soon after Kara...left.” She shrugs. “I think it’ll be fine for a week or two at least.”

“Hopefully.” Bobbi pauses a moment before asking, “So, how’s Daisy?”

Jemma flushes slightly, just as Bobbi knew she would if she asked about her girlfriend. “She’s just fine,” she says, pretending not to be flustered.

“Yeah?” teases Bobbi. “She get moved in okay?”

“Yes. Though she and Fitz are still learning how to coexist in the same place, I think.” Jemma rolls her eyes. “He’s used to me minding all his odd eccentricities and demands of where to put things, so when Daisy spreads herself ‘round the apartment like a hurricane he doesn’t quite know what to do. But we’ll work it out, I think.”

Bobbi nods. “You guys’ll be okay.”

She and Jemma make small talk until Kara comes out fifty seven minutes later (not that Bobbi was counting or anything) holding a large envelope. Jemma raises an eyebrow. “Everything okay?” she asks Kara.

“Yeah,” says Kara, smiling like everything’s normal. “I just hadn’t been to a doctor in awhile so he wanted to do some tests. All good. Ready to go?” She looks at Bobbi.

Bobbi nods. “Later, Jem.”

Once they’re safe in the car, she asks, “Well?”

Kara shrugs. “It went fine. I’m definitely pregnant.” She laughs, kind of awkwardly. “Dr. Streiten gave me a very non-judgmental speech about my options and a flyer for the nearest Planned Parenthood, and also wrote me a prescription for vitamins and stuff. He was really helpful and reassuring.”

“Good,” says Bobbi, nodding. “I like him a lot, yeah.”

“I think I do too.” Kara’s quiet another minute before saying, “So, I think I’m keeping it.”

“Oh. Cool.” Bobbi keeps her tone nonjudgmental, but she smiles at Kara. “Do they know what it is yet? I know fuck-all about babies, I gotta tell you right now.”

Kara laughs. “I don’t know anything either. I asked him and he said they don’t usually do ultrasounds until around nine or ten weeks for wolves. I’m about six, so.”

“Gotcha. Well, cool. What, um, what do you wanna tell the pack? Or do you?”

“They’ll figure it out when we all shift next time anyway.” Kara shrugs, then frowns. “I mean, unless you guys don’t want me coming out with you.”

“Nah, Melinda won’t mind,” Bobbi reassures her. “She would’ve shipped you off to some other pack if she didn’t like you. She seems tough, but she’s a big softie.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Bobbi nods. “I mean, sometimes it takes awhile for the nice part of her to come out, but it’s in there. You stick around, maybe you’ll see it.”

“I hope I get to,” says Kara, grinning. “Anyway, would you mind taking me to the pharmacy?”

“‘Course.” Bobbi starts the car. “Gotta take care of your pup, mama wolf.”

She’s not really expecting Kara to whack her playfully on the arm, but she definitely deserved it.

\---

Bobbi’s always itchy during full moon days. This month it’s particularly bad, because the wolfy part of her brain wants to go run and play with Kara more than anything. She remembers being like this with Lance at first too - that means this crush is _really_ getting out of hand.

Finally, _finally_ , she’s done with her shift and she speeds just a little bit to get home, but it’s four PM so it doesn’t matter if she goes forty instead of thirty five on a relatively non-major road. They’re meeting at Melinda’s around five to drive over to Cougar Mountain Park before sundown, but Bobbi has to go get Kara and scarf down something light just in case they don’t catch anything tonight.

When she arrives, Kara’s pacing. “Hi,” she says, smiling. “God, I hope we catch something. I’m starving.”

“I know, right,” Bobbi says, but then she notices that Kara’s hand is shaking a little. “Hey, you had breakfast or lunch or something, right?”

“What? No.” Kara blinks. “I don’t...Grant had us skip meals on the first day, he said it made us better hunters.”

“What the fuck? No, it fucks up your body bad is what it does. Sit down.” Bobbi points to the couch. “I’m making you some chicken right now.”

“It’s not that bad,” protests Kara, but she goes to sit down.

“No, it really is,” says Bobbi, grabbing the frozen chicken out of the fridge. “Ward makes you guys starve the whole day, all three full moon days? Fuck him, oh my god.”

Kara hangs her head. “He didn’t used to do this, it was just over the last year or so. I tried telling him it was a bad idea at first, but he laughed kind of meanly and asked who was pack leader, me or him? Sometimes I snuck some crackers or an apple or something during the day at work.”

Bobbi snorts. “God, no wonder his pack has a reputation for being assholes.” Once she has a couple of good-size pieces cooking, she says, more kindly, “You’re not an asshole. I don’t mean to be harsh.”

“No, it’s fine.” Kara laughs. “Now that I say it out loud, it sounds crazy, but at the time it was just...what we did.”

“Sorry.” Bobbi flips the chicken and then adds, “But hey, here’s hoping hanging out with us will be less horrible for you. Melinda doesn’t starve us or any bullshit like that, we just kinda run around and pounce on each other, maybe catch a deer if we feel like it.”

Kara smiles at her. “It sounds really nice.”

Once Kara’s inhaled the chicken, Bobbi says, “I mean, we could head over there early, we’ve got some time to kill but Mel’s husband is really nice. I don’t think you met him?”

“No, she said he was away at a conference.”

“He should be back by now. You good with that or you wanna hang around here for a bit more?”

“Nah, let’s just go.” Kara stands up to grab her jacket.

They’re the first ones to arrive at Melinda’s, and Andrew opens the door for them. “Hey, Bobbi,” he says, smiling. “And you’re Kara, right? Mel mentioned you.”

Kara nods, waving kind of awkwardly. “That’s me. Your wife was a lifesaver.”

“Don’t say that in front of her, she’ll get up and leave,” jokes Andrew. “But we really do want to do everything we can to help, Kara. I’m sorry your leader was so...terrible.” He frowns and shakes his head. “From what Melinda’s told me, that’s not how it’s supposed to be at all.”

Shrugging, Kara steps inside, kicking off her shoes. “It is what it is. I’m doing okay now. I’ve got, well, Bobbi.” She smiles at Bobbi, who has to will herself to stay still.

“C’mon in, Melinda’s in the living room.”

Melinda glances up from her book and raises an eyebrow. “You’re early,” she says to Bobbi, tone unreadable.

“Yeah, we had some time to kill. I thought she might wanna meet Andrew,” explains Bobbi, nudging Kara over to the couch.

“And talk to me about the baby with nobody else around, I’m guessing?”

“Fuck,” Kara mutters. “Is it that obvious?”

“The others probably don’t know. Mack and Elena, maybe; they know what it smells like. I guessed when I picked you up at the truck stop.” Melinda tilts her head. “You’re keeping it?”

Kara nods, resting a hand on her belly for a second. “It’s mine. Not his.”

“Alright.” Melinda pauses before adding, “We’ll protect you, as much as we can.”

“Thank you.”

By the time the rest of the pack arrives, Andrew is telling Kara stories about his students while Bobbi and Melinda sit in silence, Melinda reading and Bobbi...pretending to listen to Andrew but actually watching Kara. (It’s just cute watching her talk; she’s expressive. There’s nothing weird about that.) Mack and Elena show up first, and Bobbi notices how Kara’s eyes go directly to Elena’s stomach. She’s about three months along, so this will probably be her last wolfstime before the baby comes, and she collapses onto the couch with a grateful sigh. “I think he thinks it’s a party in there,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “He’s doing a lot of moving around lately.”

Kara laughs, but she’s getting anxious and Bobbi can smell it, which means the others can too. Mack asks, “So how are you doing, Kara? Having a good time at Bobbi’s place?” He grins as he adds, “I hope she cleaned it a little for you.”

“Yeah, it’s...it’s been really nice,” Kara says, smiling at Bobbi. “She’s taking good care of me.”

“Oh really?” Elena raises an eyebrow, shooting Bobbi a smirk.

“Yes,” says Bobbi, keeping a straight face with considerable effort. “We’ve just been, y’know, hanging out.”

“Good,” says Mack. Then he pauses before adding, “Listen, it’s none of my business, but are you...you know…” He waves his hand in the vague direction of Kara’s stomach.

Kara blinks, swallows, then nods and says with conviction, “Yes. But it’s not his, it’s mine.”

Elena frowns. “Does he know? He doesn’t sound like the type who would let a child he considered his go without a fight.”

“In order for him to know, he would’ve had to pay attention to me for more than five minutes at a time,” says Kara bitterly. “So no, I don’t think he does. And I don’t want him finding out.”

“Well, uh, congratulations?” Mack says, laughing awkwardly. “I mean, it could be under better circumstances, but still.”

“What’s going on?” Daisy pokes her head around the corner into the room. “Who are we congratulating? Did Ward get into an accident and die or something?”

Kara snorts. “No. I’m, um, pregnant.”

Daisy steps into the room fully, Jemma and Fitz on her heels, and lets out a low whistle. “Well, shit. I mean, congratulations? I need help reacting to something.”

“It’s good. I mean, I’m keeping it, it’s my baby.” Kara smiles at Daisy, sort of nervously. “And thanks.”

“So _that’s_ why your appointment took so long!” Jemma says, sounding relieved. “I was quite worried, though of course I couldn’t ask Dr. Streiten about it at all. I’m glad you’re doing all right!”

As the rest of the pack files in, Kara has to restate the news, and she seems to grow more confident as she does. Finally everyone is piled into the room and Melinda clears her throat. “So, Kara will be coming with us tonight. Be nice.”

Trip smiles over at Kara. “As if we’d be anything but.”

Since they have an extra person tonight, Mack, Elena, Trip, and Joey opt to go in Coulson’s car. The others all pile into Andrew’s minivan - as usual, he gives Melinda a kiss goodbye before they leave - and then they’re on their way.

“Trip’s a park ranger,” Bobbi explains to Kara, “so he gets us in during wolfstime even though the park is technically closed.”

Kara nods, eyes wide. “Grant’s friends with some of the local rangers. I don’t know if he told them about what we are or what, but we’ve never gotten in trouble.”

When they arrive in the park, they walk a ways into the woods just to be sure nobody will spot them.  Then they all start removing their clothes, as usual. Bobbi’s so used to being naked in front of the rest of her pack that she doesn’t even fully absorb that Kara will also be naked until...she is.

 _Oh, jesus._ Kara’s gorgeous.

She’s not shy about it either, keeping her hands at her sides. She glances around and then grins and says, “I gotta say, it’s nice not being totally surrounded by guys for once. It’s usually just a sea of dicks and then me.”

Bobbi doesn’t trust herself not to say something accidentally creepy, so she just laughs and very pointedly looks only at Kara’s face.

Shifting is painful - there’s no way around it - but soon enough they’re all done and romping around playing. Daisy drops into a play bow, then when Trip leaps at her she feints and jumps on top of him, gnawing at his ear. Jemma apparently smells prey nearby and trots off to investigate. Joey and Mack start wrestling.

Kara stays where she first turned, next to a tree, and just watches, ears slightly drooped. She’s got a lighter coat than Bobbi’s dark grey one, with dark points. Bobbi moves closer, ears pricked. She play-bows and whimpers, hoping Kara will join her.

After a second of hesitation, Kara does, leaping at her. Bobbi tries to pin Kara down, but she’s quick even with her larger belly, and she darts out of the way and leaps on top of Bobbi with a yip of excitement. They roll around together for a second, Bobbi finally managing to squirm out from under Kara’s paws and dash off, tail waving. They chase each other around for awhile, play-nipping and pawing at each other in a friendly way.

Bobbi’s so excited she doesn’t hear Melinda’s growling bark, meant to call the pack together. The next thing she knows, Melinda’s running alongside her and she nips Bobbi’s shoulder sharply. She growls sternly, and Bobbi instinctively slows down and sinks to a submissive position, tucking her tail beneath her. Melinda huffs, then lets out a howl which the rest of the pack joins in with before taking off to follow a deer’s scent trail.

Kara doesn’t seem to have an issue keeping up with them, but Bobbi stays close to her just in case. Luckily, they’re downwind from the deer so they don’t have to worry about doubling back. When the scent gets stronger, the pack fans out to try to surround the deer and move in on it. It’s an older female, probably an easy catch, but they won’t take any chances.

They’re down a sprinter with Elena too pregnant to really help, but Kara takes her position and follows Fitz and Bobbi as they get closer, planning to chase the deer straight at Mack, Melinda, and Daisy. The other four wolves run ahead to act as a last resort, in case the deer escapes.

Bobbi and Kara take off at the same time, purposely making enough noise to startle the deer into running and then taking after her, nipping at her hind legs to frighten her and tire her out. Fitz runs alongside, keeping her running straight. Sometimes he gets cocky and tries to deliver the killing blow himself, but tonight he’s sticking to the plan.

Mack and Melinda overtake the deer just as she thinks she’s gotten away, Mack quickly snapping her neck with his powerful jaws. He yelps happily and the rest of the pack comes to eat. Elena trots out from where she’d been waiting and licks at his mouth affectionately before settling in next to him at the deer’s hindquarters.

Kara seems uncertain whether she’s allowed or not, and Bobbi glances over at her and yips, backing up a bit and looking from Kara to the deer to let her know she can eat. Finally Kara pads over and cautiously rips off a chunk of the deer’s flesh, still seeming hesitant.

Bobbi wags her tail encouragingly and then begins to eat herself, huffing with satisfaction at the taste of fresh deer meat. Once they’ve eaten their fill, the pack covers the deer carcass as best they can and then amble off, full and happy. Mack and Elena curl up together and doze, while Daisy and Jemma and Fitz all paw at each other lazily. Trip and Joey nip at each other, half-heartedly play-fighting over a rib bone, and Coulson chews on another bone nearby. Melinda ambles around, keeping an eye on the pack.

Bobbi circles and then lays down, and Kara glances at her like she’s not sure if she’s okay to join her. Bobbi puts her head on her paws and whimpers, letting Kara know she’s welcome. Kara settles in next to Bobbi, sighing happily, and Bobbi rests her head on Kara’s back. Bobbi’s belly is full and Kara’s warm scent is all around her. She shuts her eyes.

\---

Several hours later, just after dawn, someone pokes Bobbi on the arm. “Hey,” says a voice.

Bobbi starts awake. “What? What’s…?” The first thing she registers is that pine needles are even more uncomfortable to sleep on as a naked human, and the second is that there’s another naked human lying very close to her.

“Shit, did we sleep that whole time?” Kara asks, eyes wide. Bobbi tries very, very hard to keep her eyes on Kara’s face. This is hard, because, well, Bobbi hasn’t really considered herself a boob girl before, but Kara’s boobs are doing their damnedest to change her mind about that. To say nothing of some of the _other_ parts of Kara’s body that she’s definitely not supposed to be looking at…

“Most of you did,” says Melinda, amused. “I caught a couple hours and then stood watch. It was a good kill, so I figured the pack deserved the rest.” She swipes at her mouth and, feeling dried blood, grimaces. “Love being a wolf, don’t love the morning after quite so much.”

Bobbi nods, trying to arrange her face into an expression that hides her embarrassment. She glances around and sees that everyone else seems to be...dressed. “Wow, assholes,” she says dryly. “Thanks for waking me earlier.”

“Aw, but you two were so cute,” says Daisy, eyes bright with mischief. “Bobbi, your head was on her shoulder and you were all snuggled up together.”

Kara flushes. “Sorry,” she says to Bobbi. “That’s never happened before post-wolf with someone besides, y’know, Grant. Not sure what’s up with that.”

“It’s fine,” says Bobbi. “Just...fellow packmate stuff. Nothing weird about it.” She shrugs.

“Whatever you say,” says Melinda with a faint but unmistakable smirk. “Anyway, get your clothes on. Gotta head out if some of us are gonna make it to work.”

Riding back to May’s house in the seat right next to Kara is so awkward Bobbi can practically smell it. It seems like Joey, who’s on the other side of them, can too. “D’you have to go to work today?” he asks Bobbi.

“Nope,” she says, too casually. “Tomorrow, though.”   


“Ooh, that sucks. My supervisor thinks we might finish the structure for this new building by tomorrow morning, so I might at least get to go home early.” Joey shrugs.

“Well, that’s something,” says Bobbi, nodding.

She and Kara don’t speak again until they’re in Bobbi’s car. “So,” Kara says. “This isn’t weird, right? After…”

Bobbi shakes her head. “Nope. Absolutely nothing weird about it.”

“Okay,” says Kara. “Well. I had fun. So thanks.”

“Yeah, of course. We usually just fuck around the other two nights if we catch something on the first night. It’s great.” Bobbi grins. “Bet I can outrun you.”

“Oh, that’s a bet you’ll lose,” Kara says, laughing and tossing her hair.

They race that night, leaving the rest of the pack behind and just running through the woods, not slowing to a lazy trot until both of them are panting. Kara pounces on Bobbi and worries her ear fondly and Bobbi tries to wriggle out from under her, yelping. They turn back to follow their own scent trails eventually, stopping to wrestle periodically.

This time they’re awake for the change, and can slip into their clothes easily without the rest of the pack teasing them too much. Bobbi’s careful not to look at Kara until she’s dressed.

Wolfstime lasts three nights. The first post-wolf night always reminds Bobbi of getting the flu. She’s exhausted, her whole body aches slightly, and she’s got a general feeling of malaise.

Kara throws up her dinner around nine PM. “Goddammit,” she sighs, mopping up her mouth as she kneels by the toilet. “Do you feel really shitty too or is this just from the baby?”

“Yeah, I always do on the first night after. I think it’s just a post-wolf thing? Dunno. Lance always got really whiny, so I guess it’s different for everyone.”

“I don’t usually throw up, but I sometimes feel a little nauseous. Bed?” Kara sounds so sad Bobbi wants to hug her.

“Yeah, let’s call it a night. C’mon.” Bobbi helps her into the room.

When they get there, Kara just shucks off her shirt unceremoniously and grabs her pajamas off the floor. “You don’t care, right?” she asks when she notices Bobbi’s shocked expression. “Sorry. I just figured, we’ve seen each other naked by now so it’s whatever.”

“No, no, it’s...it’s cool.” Bobbi coughs and goes to get her own pajamas, changing in record time.

They get in bed and it’s...weird. Or maybe it’s just weird for Bobbi. They’re both quiet a few minutes and then Kara whispers, “Would you...god, this is stupid, never mind.”

“What?”

“No, it’s a weird request, I just - Grant used to spoon me sometimes when we both felt shitty on the post-wolf nights, and I was gonna ask you if you would, but that’s stupid.” Kara snorts. “Forget it.”

“It’s not stupid,” says Bobbi quickly. “Here, let me…” Before she can lose her nerve, she scoots close to Kara and drapes her arm over her waist. “Like that?”

“Yeah,” breathes Kara. “That’s...really nice. Thanks. You don’t have to if it’s weird, though.”

“No,” says Bobbi, “it’s, it’s totally fine.” She forces herself not to lean forward just slightly and smell Kara’s hair. _That_ would be even weirder.

They’re both quiet awhile, just breathing. Bobbi’s not even sure if Kara’s still awake when she says, “Hey, y’know, if you’re thinking about staying in town for awhile, maybe getting a job, I could use a roommate.”

“You’re sure?” Kara asks. “I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything, or ask out of pity. I can find somewhere else to stay if…”

“It’s not that. Promise it’s not that. I just…” Bobbi sighs. “I like having you around, okay? And that’s a high compliment, living with Lance pretty much made me swear off living with anyone for at least a decade, unless I was desperate. And I’m not desperate, it’s just, I dunno, nice having you here.”

“Wow, Morse,” teases Kara, and Bobbi can hear the smile in her voice. “High praise.”

Bobbi snorts. “Fuck you.”

Kara laughs. Then she adds, “Yeah, I’d like that. I was gonna start applying to some jobs anyway, and call Melinda and see if anyone else wanted to host me for a little while.”

“Don’t bother. This tiny, shitty hole in the wall is open if you wanna stay.”

“Thank you.”

\---

Idyllic is a stupid word. Bobbi would never use it to describe her life.

Except...for a little while, that’s kind of how it feels. Kara gets a receptionist job at a dentist’s office, signs a nine-month lease with Bobbi’s landlord, and goes in for the ultrasound. Bobbi gets a text that says _Girl, apparently_ and she smiles and texts back _Ooh, I’ll buy her a MOMMY’S LITTLE PRINCESS onesie!_ Kara’s only response to that is _Fuck off_ , which makes Bobbi laugh.

They spend their evenings mostly on the couch, watching TV or reading or playing on their phones. Sometimes they bitch about their jobs or how much pregnancy sucks (that one involves more listening than talking from Bobbi, but still). Bobbi starts calling the baby Ginger. “Like _Ginger Snaps,_ ” she explains, grinning. “You ever see that movie? It wasn’t bad.”

“Oh my god, I am not calling her _Ginger!_ ”

“You don’t have to,” laughs Bobbi, “but I’m gonna till you pop her out and give her a real name.”

They also keep spooning, most nights. Neither of them really talk about it; they just nestle close together. Kara’s hair smells nice. Bobbi gets used to waking up to her scent.

Then, on the night before the March full moon, Bobbi’s phone rings.

Or rather, it starts playing the _Star Wars_ theme, and Kara laughs. “Nerd.”

“Not like you haven’t heard my ringtone before,” says Bobbi, grinning, as she sees the caller ID and picks up. “Oh hey, Mel, what’s up?”

“Can I speak to Kara, please?”

Bobbi’s blood feels like it’s turned to ice. The voice on the other side is a guy’s voice - definitely _not_ Melinda. Her mouth falls open, and Kara notices and furrows her brow at her.

“Bobbi,” the man says, “hand the phone to Kara, please. I’ve got your leader here, Melinda, isn’t it? I’d hate for anything to happen to her if you didn’t comply with my very easy request.”

Kara’s eyes are wide and terrified, watching her. “It’s him, isn’t it?” she whispers.

Bobbi nods and moves the phone away long enough to say, “He wants to talk to you. He...he said Melinda…”

“Give it to me,” Kara says, voice steely. Bobbi does, hand shaking, and Kara says, “Hello, Grant.” She’s quiet a moment, listening to him, then says, “I’m here with a friend, I’m putting it on speakerphone so she can hear too.”

“-baby, c’mon, let’s just talk about this,” Ward is saying when Kara pushes the speakerphone button. “I miss you.”

“There’s’ nothing to talk about,” says Kara. “I know what you were doing with those people. I know you and the others were chasing and _eating_ them.”

Ward sighs. “You shouldn’t have seen that. And Kebo shouldn’t have...listen, can you just come meet me so we can talk about this? I want to see you.”

“I’d rather not,” Kara replies icily. “I don’t want to see you ever again.”

“Well, that’s a shame.” There’s the sound of a gun cocking on the other end. “I already said this to Bobbi, but I’ve got Melinda and her husband over here and it’d be an awful shame if anything happened to them.”

“You’re a monster,” growls Kara. “Do you really think this will make me love you again?”

“We’re all monsters, baby,” says Ward smoothly. “Come see me sometime in the next hour or the Cougar Mountain pack’s gonna have to find a new leader.” There’s a click as he hangs up.  


“Fuck!” shouts Kara. “Motherfucker!” Their upstairs neighbor pounds on the ceiling a few times, and she groans. “I don’t know how I thought I could get away. Of course he found me, he’ll always-”

“Hey,” Bobbi says, putting her hand on Kara’s knee. “We’ll figure it out, okay? We’ll go over there and make sure Mel and Andrew are safe and we’ll...figure out what to do about him, I dunno. But you’re not going back with him. I won’t let that happen.”

“Thank you,” Kara says, and she sort of leans her head on Bobbi’s shoulder. It takes Bobbi a minute to have the presence of mind to react to that, and then she very carefully reaches to pet Kara’s hair, just slightly.

Kara sighs. “That’s nice,” she murmurs. “Can you keep doing that for a minute?”

“Sure,” says Bobbi. “Just for a minute.” Kara’s hair is really soft.

But the moment passes, and then they have to drive over to Melinda’s. Kara grips the armrest tightly, and Bobbi drives just a bit too fast. Neither are sure what they’ll find when they knock on the door.

After a long moment, the door opens. It’s a dark-haired man with a handsome face, who Bobbi guesses is Ward (Kara flinches slightly when she sees him). “Kara,” he says warmly, and then he glances down and his eyes widen. “Is that...oh my god.”

“She’s not yours,” Kara says fiercely, resting her hand on her belly. “She’s mine.”

“Well, that’s something we’ll have to talk about,” Ward says smoothly, quickly rearranging his face into a pleasant smile again. “Come in, both of you. And you must be Bobbi. I hope you’ve been taking good care of my mate.”

“Not yours,” Kara repeats, pushing past him to get inside.

Ward laughs a little bit and rolls his eyes at Bobbi, who continues to glare at him. “She gets in moods sometimes. I’m sure you’re familiar with that, if she’s been staying with you.”

Bobbi can’t stop herself from replying, “She’s been pretty happy with me, actually.”

Ward raises his hands and says, “Alright, alright. Let’s just go into the other room and talk about this.” He herds them toward the living room.

Melinda and Andrew are sitting side by side on the couch, wrists and ankles bound with zip ties and mouths covered with duct tape. Melinda’s only reaction to seeing them is to raise her eyebrows slightly.

Ward gestures for Kara and Bobbi to sit down, then takes his place in Melinda’s red chair, pulling the gun out of his back pocket and resting it on the chair’s arm. “Now,” he says, “Let’s talk.”

“About what?” Kara snaps. “How you’re arresting people just so you can bully them into joining the pack, and having everyone _eat_ them if they don’t agree? Or how about how you completely ignored me unless it was convenient for you? _Or_ how about how you watched Kebo attack me and you did _nothing_?” The last few words are spit out, barely a question.

Ward sighs. “I thought that might have something to do with your little tantrum. You know I love you, but I can’t have you disobeying my orders or causing dissent in the pack. I’m the leader, and if one of my members disobeys me, I have to discipline them. I thought it was kinder to let Kebo do it.”

“ _Kinder?_ Look at my face, Grant! He did this to me and you did nothing to stop him!” Kara’s shaking, and Bobbi puts her hand on her shoulder to offer support as best she can. “That’s the worst thing to me, that you just...just _let_ him do it and then you left me there! And then you all ran off and you ate that guy, you just - _ate_ him, I can’t…” Kara’s breathing hard and she pauses to take a few breaths.

Ward takes this opportunity to say, “Look, baby, I still think you’re beautiful. Come home with me and we’ll talk more about other ways to expand the pack, okay? You can’t want our daughter to grow up without her father, right?”

“She’s _not your daughter!_ ” growls Kara. “I don’t want her to have anything to do with a murdering shitbag like you! And I don’t give a shit what you think about my face. We’re not mates anymore, Grant, and I’m never coming back with you.”

Ward sighs. “I had hoped you would see reason. I was even going to stop those recruitment tactics, work on our relationship more. But if you won’t listen to me, then I have no other choice.” He turns to Melinda. “I will spare you and your mate tonight, but I am declaring war on the Cougar Mountain pack. My pack is nearby, and we await the full moon tomorrow night. We will meet your pack in whatever location you choose, and either you will return Kara to us, or we will be forced to take her. We’ll follow your scent to the meeting spot. Do not call any other packs to help you, and do not try to leave town. If you do, we will find you, and we will slaughter you.” He stands up, casually grabbing his gun. “I hope you’ll make the right choice. Good night.”

Bobbi and Kara scarcely move until they hear the door shut behind him. Then Bobbi pulls out her pocket knife and starts to cut Melinda and Andrew free, while Kara puts her head in her hands. “That bastard, that _bastard_ …”

“He’s definitely up there in regards to the worst people I’ve ever met,” mutters Bobbi, then asks, “Mel, Andrew, are you guys okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“Not really,” says Melinda, rubbing her mouth and grimacing, “but he threatened the hell out of us. Bastard had me at gunpoint and made Andrew tie me up, then he got Andrew himself.”

“I’m sorry,” sighs Andrew. “I couldn’t stand the idea of him hurting you-”

“It’s fine,” says Melinda, leaning against him. “Not your fault. All that did was piss me off more. I’m calling Fury.”

Kara looks startled. “But he, he said not to get others involved, I don’t know what he’ll-”

“Don’t care what he said. He’s violated so many of the rules, I’m not interested in fighting fair with him.” Melinda’s already got her phone out and is dialing. “Hey, Fury? Yeah, what are you guys up to tomorrow? I’ve got the leader of the Boise Foothills pack threatening one of my own, we might need some backup.”

Bobbi snorts and then turns to Kara, who’s still shaking. “Hey,” she says, grabbing her hand. “You did really well. You’re a badass. He’s a fucking dickhead and we’re not gonna let him take you.”

Kara leans on her a little and whimpers, “I don’t feel badass. I’m scared shitless. I don’t want any of you to get hurt because of me.”

“Yeah, but that’s what being in a pack is all about,” Bobbi says. “Not his weird follow-my-orders-or-get-eaten rules. We protect each other, and you’re one of us now.” She glances at Melinda, who nods confirmation before continuing to talk to Fury. “We’re gonna make him leave you alone, Kara. Promise.”

\---

Right after she gets off the phone with Fury, Melinda calls an emergency pack meeting via Skype. “So,” she says, once everyone is on, “Ward found her.”

She pauses for the various reactions, which are mostly swearing, before she adds, “And he’s declared war on us tomorrow night. I’ve called Fury and he’s agreed to bring his pack to help.”

“Do we know how many there are of them?” Daisy asks. “I mean, how many are we talking here, a dozen, two?”

Melinda tilts her phone toward Kara, who says, “I’d say at least two dozen. He...we got a lot of new people in the last few months, I don’t even know all their names.”

“Yeah, by the way, he was ‘recruiting’ people by arresting them and then saying he’d have his pack eat them if they didn’t let him turn them,” chimes in Bobbi.

“Jesus,” says Trip. “That’s...unbelievable.”

“I wish I was lying,” says Kara. “But I’m not.”

Melinda nods, “So, we’re dealing with a bunch of wolves who are either bullies or following orders because they’re too scared not to. Might be able to use that to our advantage. I’m not going to force any of you to come, though. I can’t guarantee we’ll all make it out alive. If you don’t want to, text me and I’ll make sure you’re nowhere near the battle.”

“I’m sorry, Kara,” Jemma says. “This is all so horrible, I can’t imagine what you’re feeling.”

Kara sighs. “Thank you. And thank you all for...for helping me.”

“Of course!” Joey says. “That’s what being a pack is all about.”

They spend a few minutes figuring out logistics, then Bobbi notices Kara looking even sadder and says, “Hey, Mel, I think we’re gonna head out.” Melinda nods and everyone choruses their goodbyes, which seems to perk Kara up a little at least.

She doesn’t say much on the drive home or while they’re getting ready for bed. It’s not until she and Bobbi are pressed against each other that she says, very softly, “What if I just left tonight?”

“What?”

“What if I just snuck out to the bus station and got on a bus to somewhere random and nobody but you knew that I’d left?”

“Kara,” Bobbi says, “you don’t have to do that. We’ll fight for you, we’ve got-”

“But you shouldn’t _have_ to,” Kara interrupts, sounding bitter. “I haven’t even been here more than two months, how can I be part of your pack? I don’t deserve your protection.”

“Yes you do,” says Bobbi. “You-”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt or killed because of me! I can’t…” Kara takes a deep breath, then she rolls herself over slowly so she’s looking Bobbi in the eyes. “I don’t know what I’ll do if Melinda gets hurts because of me, or Daisy, or Coulson or...you.”

Bobbi frowns. “Kara, you know we’ll do it either way, right? You’re one of us now.”

“I know, but I just - I don’t even know most of them that well and they’re still putting themselves in danger for me, it’s…” Kara takes a deep, ragged breath. “It’s a lot, I guess. And I don’t know that I deserve it.”

“Hey,” Bobbi says, reaching up to stroke Kara’s hair. “You do, okay? You’re great and we’re happy to have you in the pack. And I...I wouldn’t want you to leave either. I like having you here.”

They stare at each other, just breathing quietly for a moment. Bobbi is about to say something else, but Kara leans forward just a little and then they’re kissing and suddenly Bobbi forgets all about whatever she was going to say, and also how to breathe for a second.

Then Kara pulls back, eyes wide. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “That was...fuck. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Bobbi says. “I, um.” She chuckles nervously. “I liked it.”

“You don’t have to be nice about it,” Kara replies. “Everything’s weird right now, I don’t want it to get weirder, I can just-”

“It wasn’t weird,” insists Bobbi, heart racing. “I liked it. I like you, Kara.”

Kara sighs. “No, don’t tell me that. That’ll just make it worse if...if the worst happens.”

“Okay,” Bobbi says, even though she feels like she’s choking on the word. “Do you wanna just go to sleep, then?”

“Yeah,” Kara says softly. “If that’s okay? I’m sorry, I just...I don’t want to think about losing you.”

“You won’t,” murmurs Bobbi.

“You don’t know that,” says Kara. “But...if we both make through tomorrow night, and you wanted to kiss me again…”

Bobbi nods, and moves her arm so Kara can roll back over on her other side. “Okay,” she repeats. “Night, Kara.”

“Night.”

\---

Bobbi’s supposed to have an afternoon shift the next day, but she calls in sick, which Isabelle doesn’t sound entirely convinced about but doesn’t argue. Then she and Kara drive over to Melinda’s, since they agreed it would probably be safer at this point than anywhere else.

There are two giant vans in front of the house, and Bobbi raises an eyebrow. “You stay in the car a second,” she says to Kara, who nods.

But it turns out to only be Fury’s pack, from the Hood River area. Melinda’s house is overrun with giant, burly dudes and three women, who all look varyingly amused by their male packmates’ general enthusiasm.

“There’s not a lot of room to sit,” Melinda says dryly when she sees Bobbi and Kara come in. “But we’ll have help tonight.”

A tall black man with an eyepatch over his left eye nods at them. “Kara, right?” he asks her. “Fury. We’ve got your back. I’ve been waiting for a chance to take on Ward.”

“Thank you,” Kara says, nodding her head respectfully. “I can’t thank you enough.”

Fury shrugs. “May needed our help, we came.”

One of the men, who has blond hair and a kind smile, comes over to offer his hand. “I’m Steve,” he says. “Sorry to hear you’ve had so much trouble lately, ma’am.”

Kara takes his hand, looking startled. “Oh, Kara’s fine, thanks.”

“He’s old-fashioned like that,” says another guy who comes up behind Steve to elbow him fondly. “His mama raised him with impeccable manners.”

Steve snorts and leans over to kiss his cheek. “That’s not a bad thing, Wilson.”

“Never said it was,” the guy replies, grinning. “Hi, I’m Sam. Kara and Bobbi, right?”

“Yup,” Bobbi says. “So. Lot of guys in your pack, huh?”

Steve shrugs. “Not on purpose. Nat, Wanda, and Maria are always riding us about finding more women. It’s something we’re working on. Anyway, did you wanna meet the others?”

“Sure,” says Kara, looking slightly overwhelmed but smiling.

They’re introduced to Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Rhodey, Wanda, Pietro, T’Challa, Maria, and Bucky, all of whom are varying degrees of friendly. Wanda and Pietro are the youngest, barely out of their teens, and twins. “They were all by themselves, poor kids, till I found them,” Clint says, ruffling Pietro’s hair. “They were holed up in a tiny town like an hour from us, just scavenging every full moon. You guys were eating, what, chickens?”

“Only sometimes,” says Wanda, rolling her eyes. “We had it under control.”

“Sure you did,” says Clint fondly.

More of Melinda’s pack show up soon. Daisy, Jemma, and Fitz file in, and Fitz and Jemma immediately get starstruck over Bruce and Tony, who are apparently scientists of some sort. Daisy rolls her eyes fondly and comes to talk to Bobbi and Kara. “How are you guys doing?” she asks. “I mean, it sucks, but y’know what I mean.”

Kara laughs, but not really like it’s funny. “Alive.”

Daisy snorts. “Yeah, well, it’s something anyway.”

Joey, Trip, and Mack show up all at once, and Coulson soon after. “I brought you a candy bar,” Joey says, offering it to Kara. “Didn’t know what kind you liked so I just got a Hershey’s, but.”

“Thank you,” she says, taking it and smiling at him, though it’s a little wobbly.

“Elena says you should rip out his throat,” Mack says, grinning. “And that she’d do it for you if she weren’t stuck at home tonight.”

That makes Kara laugh again, and she almost sounds like she means it. “Tell her thanks.”

They all go out for an early dinner, to a mediocre diner that serves big enough portions to satisfy their wolfish appetites. The staff don’t ask questions. Kara picks at her food, but at Bobbi’s urging she eats enough to make a full meal. Then they all pile into their various cars and head for the park.

Melinda lets Coulson drive the van, and she tells Kara, so quietly that Bobbi almost doesn’t hear it, “You don’t have to be there when we fight him. You can leave.”

“No,” Kara says. “No, I need to be there.”

“Okay.” Melinda nods. “Just wanted to say it.”

They arrive at the park with plenty of time to spare. The walk from the parking lot into the woods is somber and mostly quiet, although Pietro and Wanda seem awed by the park and keep elbowing and whispering to each other. When they finally stop in a clearing, Melinda says, “We don’t know how many of them there’ll be. There should be someone guarding Kara, probably. You won’t be fighting,” she says, when Kara starts to argue. “I don’t trust him not to have his wolves fight dirty somehow.”

“Fine,” mutters Kara.

“I got her back,” says Sam, smiling at Kara. She smiles back, a little shyly.

Soon after they all shift, they hear the noises of a group approaching. Ward’s pack bursts into the clearing, hackles raised and teeth bared, but waiting for their leader’s command to attack. Their tails are waving high - they’re feeling confident. Ward steps to the front of the group, looking right at Melinda. Then he looks over at Kara and whimpers, as if trying to plead with her one last time.

Kara pulls her lips back in a snarl and pins her ears, barking a few times as a warning before starting to growl.

At that, Ward’s lips pull back into a growl of his own and he springs at Melinda, who’s more than ready for him. His pack leaps at Melinda and Fury’s wolves, and the battle begins.

A huge dark grey wolf smacks into Bobbi. He tries to tip her onto her back and get at her throat, but she shoves him off using her back legs. A smaller brownish male grabs one of her legs in his jaw; she yelps and kicks at him with the other. The grey male grabs onto her scruff and worries her, snarling. He’s trying to get a hold on her throat.

Then he’s suddenly jolted away. She’s panting for breath, kicking at the brown wolf until he lets go of her leg. She smells blood - her blood. There’s pain, but she launches herself at him anyway. He wasn’t expecting it and she’s able to get in a few good bites around his neck before he squirms away and scampers off whining.

She hears a yelp of pain and turns to see Joey and one of the Hood River females (Maria?) fighting the big grey male. They’re doing their best, but he’s bigger and stronger and has a good grip on Joey’s belly. She leaps on him, growling, and together she and Maria drag him off Joey. He’s bleeding, but able to scramble to his feet.

Bobbi looks for Melinda, who’s still battling Ward. They’re wrestling together, both trying to get at each other’s throats and biting each other where they can. Melinda’s pale grey coat is patchy with blood, but Ward’s not looking much better.

A noise of distress comes from behind Bobbi. A smaller Hood River female stands over the body of a male who looks exactly like her, nosing at him and whining. She doesn’t see the other wolf creeping up behind her until it’s almost too late, but Bobbi bounds over to shove him out of the way, able to grab him by the throat and tear out a chunk before he leaps away. She lets him go. The female she saved - Wanda - hangs her head, and Bobbi nuzzles at her for a moment sympathetically. Then Wanda sees another Boise wolf run by and sprints after him, snarling.

Bobbi keeps fighting. Her leg hurts, but she doesn’t stop. Then, in a rare moment of quiet, she smells Kara and her ears perk up in alarm. She looks around and sees Kara loping towards where Melinda and Ward are circling each other, snarling.

Bobbi lets out a warning bark, but Kara ignores her and barrels right into Ward. He’s so focused on Melinda he doesn’t see her coming, and Kara’s able to leap on top of him and sink her teeth into the back of his neck. He howls furiously, trying to shake her off. She hangs on until he rolls over onto his back, crushing her beneath him. Before she can squirm away, he pins her down, snarling.

Melinda stalks forward, ready to spring on him, but he snarls to keep her back and grabs Kara’s throat in his teeth. But he doesn’t bite Kara. Instead, he lets her go, and then whimpers at her again.

Kara growls and kicks at him with her back legs. Bobbi rushes in to sink her teeth into Ward’s shoulder, which distracts him enough for Kara to throw her full weight on him and send them all flying backwards. Ward yelps when he hits the ground hard. His head falls back, and Kara rips a hole in his throat without hesitation.

Ward tries to yelp again, but the sound ends in a gurgle and soon he’s still, blood staining the dirt beneath him.

Kara steps off of him and lets out a howl of victory, which makes every wolf stop fighting and look at her. When the Boise wolves see that their leader is dead, they begin letting out yelps and whimpers of dismay. Some try to fight on, but most flee, and a few of Fury and Melinda’s wolves give chase to drive them off. Most just sit or collapse, panting.

Once all of Ward’s pack is gone, Fury and Melinda try to gather their packs together. Many of the dead wolves are Boise wolves, but Mack drags Fitz’s body over gently, and they find Wanda curled up next to Pietro’s body, whimpering. Rhodey’s in pretty bad shape, with one of his back legs probably broken and skin ripped to the bone, so they don’t try to move him. Bobbi’s leg has stopped bleeding, but it still hurts. Everyone else’s wounds are minor. They hold vigils for their dead, howling until the sounds echo off the trees and then circling around them and sitting in silence.

When the sun rises, Fury’s pack quickly leaves to get Rhodey to the ER, Thor gently carrying Pietro’s body away. Coulson and Mack carry Fitz to the car, and no one’s quite sure what to do now. Jemma’s tears fall almost silently all the way to Melinda’s, and Daisy holds her girlfriend’s hand and says nothing.

Bobbi and Kara don’t talk much either, just lean on each other during the drive. Melinda glances at everyone once they’re out of the cars and says quietly, “Well done. Go rest.”

Bobbi’s leg is pretty torn up, and Kara’s got some scrapes, so she drives them both to urgent care just as it’s opening. The nurses seem more than a little skeptical, but they let Kara go home with Bobbi, so apparently she’d been able to convince them that it hadn’t been Bobbi who fucked her up.

When they get home, Bobbi calls Isabelle and gives her a vague excuse about being in a car accident and needing the day off to recuperate. Kara does the same for her job. Then they both slip on their pajamas and fall into bed. They spoon close together and sleep.

\---

When they wake up, hours later, it’s late afternoon. Bobbi’s not even sure Kara’s up until she hears her sigh too deeply for it to be just a sleep-noise. “He’s gone,” Kara says. “He’s really gone.”

“Yeah,” Bobbi says, hugging her a little more tightly, “he is.”

“Feels weird.” Kara sounds almost nonchalant. “Should I be sad? I’m not that sad. I just kinda feel weird and numb about him. He was alive and then I killed him. That’s weird.”

“I’m pretty sure any judge would rule that as a self-defense killing,” Bobbi points out.

“Oh, I’m not blaming myself,” Kara says quickly. “I mean, I feel terrible about Fitz and Pietro and Rhodey and all the others who got hurt-”

“They made their choice,” Bobbi interrupts. “Don’t blame yourself.”

“I know,” says Kara, “but I still feel shitty about it. But knowing I killed Grant...I don’t feel _anything_.”

“I don’t think that’s weird. I mean, you might feel the stuff you think you’re supposed to feel later, but if you don’t I don’t think that’s bad. You’ve had a hell of a time lately.” Bobbi hesitates before kissing Kara’s shoulder gently. “You can feel however you want, far as I’m concerned.”

Kara laughs a bit. “Thank you. I’m gonna…” She moves to roll over and Bobbi lets her. “Thank you,” she says once they’re face-to-face. “For...well, everything.”

“Of course.” Bobbi falls silent, not sure what else to say.

Kara’s quiet too. Then, hesitantly, she takes Bobbi’s face and pulls her into a kiss.

It’s not desperate like the first one was. This one is gentle and almost a question. Neither one is really concerned about ending it, but when it does Bobbi smiles and says, “So…I’m guessing you’re okay with my confession from last night?”

Kara laughs. “God, that feels like so fucking long ago. But yeah...yeah, I’m more than okay with it.”

“Good.” Bobbi leans forward to kiss her again. “Does this make me Ginger’s other mom?” she asks with a grin.

That earns her a playful shove. “Her name is _not_ Ginger!”

\---

“Hey there, Rosie,” coos Andrew as he takes the baby from Kara. “Is she all ready for her play date with Uncle Andrew?”

Kara snorts. “It won’t be much of a play date. More like, constantly waking you up for feedings.” She kisses Rose’s forehead. “Also Rosie makes her sound like a Hobbit.”

“Wow, nerd,” says Bobbi, bumping her shoulder with Kara’s. Kara sticks out her tongue.

Andrew laughs. “It’s fine. Elena says Dante’s pretty chill so far, maybe he’ll rub off on her.” Elena, who’s still holding her son, nods agreement.

“He’ll be happy even if they keep him up all night,” Melinda says, smirking fondly at her husband. “He loves babies.”

“Guilty as charged,” says Andrew cheerfully, leaning down for a kiss. “You all have fun now. We’ll be fine here.”

Elena gives Dante a last cuddle and then puts him in his cradle swing. “Adios, mi corazón,” she murmurs. Mack kneels down to kiss his son’s forehead as well.

Bobbi grins and waves goodbye to Rose, even though the baby definitely can’t wave back yet. “See you tomorrow, munchkin.” Andrew gently moves her hand as if she’s waving.

“God, parents,” Daisy teases. “We’re not getting any younger here, c’mon!”

Elena laughs. “If you have some of your own someday, you will understand why we drag out the goodbyes.”

As they head out to the van, Bobbi can see Kara’s a bit anxious, so she grabs her hand. “She’ll be fine, Kar.”

Kara chuckles. “I know, I know. Thanks, Bobbi.” She pauses to kiss Bobbi’s cheek. “Honestly, I can’t wait to run again. I’ve missed it. You wanna race tonight?”

“Fuck yeah, you’re on,” Bobbi says, giving her a proper kiss. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“No you won’t,” Kara says, tossing her head.

She doesn’t. Kara wins by a full stride, and then doubles back to knock Bobbi over and nip at her face playfully until they’re wrestling, tails wagging. When they curl up together after Bobbi catches them a rabbit to share, Kara rests her head on Bobbi’s shoulders. Bobbi sighs happily and closes her eyes, totally content.

**Author's Note:**

> I basically stole bits of werewolf mythology from a bunch of different things, here's what I can remember: the idea for pregnant werewolves' shifting stopping was inspired by The Vampire Diaries' wiki; elderly werewolves picking whether they stay wolf or human is from _Liar_ by Justine Larbalestier; "wolfstime" is from _Once Upon a Time_ but also probably other things. 
> 
> I grew up near Issaquah, which is why I set it over there, but it's totally possible I got some of the geography wrong. Let me know if something jumps out at you as egregious! Also, Rose and Dante are named after Rose Tyler and Dante Quintana, respectively. And yes, Rose's name is a bad joke, I'm sorry. (Not that sorry.)


End file.
